Murphy's Shirt
by forensicsfan
Summary: COMPLETE - NS - A envelope with a couple of tickets leads to an outing, which leads to...well, I'm not giving it away. You'll have to read it and find out. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I certainly don't profit from them, but a dinner cruise on Lake Mead with George sure sounds nice.  
  
This is a gift to my fellow Snickers.

* * *

There was something vaguely familiar about the handwriting, but not so familiar that it was clear who had written on the envelope. Nick Stokes just looked at the envelope taped to his locker quizzically and pulled it off, glancing around as if he was trying to catch someone watching him. His eyebrows curved upwards as he regarded the contents of the envelope; a note with the words 'I think you know what to do with these' and two tickets to a dinner cruise on Lake Mead. He let out a soft chuckle and glanced around again, sure that someone was going to be there to tell him what this was all about, but he was alone and as he shook his head and grabbed his ID badge, he tossed the envelope onto the shelf in the top of his locker and promptly closed the door to head to the briefing.  
  
He was the last one in the break room; the rest of the team of CSIs were already assembled and waiting for Grissom to finish his description of how his pet tarantula 'Fluffy' had devoured one of his errant racing cockroaches.  
  
Catherine glanced up, rolling her eyes and flashing Nick a smile as he took a seat at the table between her and Warrick.  
  
Grissom finished his story and then with a barely perceptible smile he began to hand out assignments. "Catherine, you and Warrick have a 427 out in Summerlin. Brass is on his way out there now. The victim is a fourteen year old boy. Possible abduction by non-custodial parent." He handed them a slip. He furrowed his brow slightly and then glanced at Sara. "Sara, you and Nicky have a 426. Detective Vega is already there."  
  
Nick noticed Sara's jaw tighten at the mention of the 426. Rape cases were never fun for any of them, but he wondered if Grissom ever noticed how hard they were on her in particular. Nick took the slip from Grissom's hand and glanced at Sara with an impish grin and a wink as he stood up; the twitch upward at the corners of her mouth was his reward.  
  
After they processed the scene they headed to the hospital to pick up the SART kit. The victim, a 21 year old college student living in a ground floor apartment close to the Western LVU campus, had been woken from her sleep by a searing pain in her groin area and a man pinning her down by her throat. She was able to push him away long enough to let out a scream and it was this that probably had saved her life. From what they could ascertain, the perpetrator had fled through an open window in her bedroom.  
  
Once they had collected the kit and interviewed the victim, the pair headed back to the lab. Sara was more quiet than usual. Nick looked over at her a bit concerned. "You ok?"  
  
She glanced over at him and nodded. "Yeah." She gazed out the window. "I just hate cases like this. If she had just put a dowel in the window frame to lock it shut he wouldn't have been able to get in."  
  
Nick nodded. "Easy entry and egress."  
  
Sara rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes for a moment. "Can I ask you something, Nick?"  
  
"Shoot." He replied glancing over at her with a smile.  
  
She let out a sigh and furrowed her brow. "Do you ever wonder what Grissom is thinking when he hands out cases?"  
  
Nick shook his head. "I've stopped wondering why Grissom does things a long time ago. I have to believe that he assigns cases to the people he thinks are going to take the most care."  
  
She cast him a doubtful look.  
  
"All I'm saying is that he trusts the skills we have to do our jobs and to do right by the victims. How he chooses who goes where is a mystery to all of us." Nick concluded.  
  
"I suppose it's a good thing that I have tomorrow night off." She closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to massage the tension from her neck.  
  
Nick's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. "You have the night off?"  
  
Sara deadpanned. "Don't look so surprised. The department seems to have instituted a use it or lose it policy on vacation, so if I don't start using some I'll lose the ten weeks I have stored up."  
  
"Ten weeks." Nick whistle. "I knew you were a workaholic, but that's a little ridiculous even for you."  
  
Sara rolled her eyes.  
  
"Sara, when was the last time you went out?" Nick looked at her curiously.  
  
"What exactly do you mean by went out?" She pursed her lips together. "The last time I took your advice and went out, I met Hank."  
  
"He wasn't good enough for you." Nick quipped.  
  
"You've got that right." Sara quipped right back. "Too bad I didn't figure that out until after I'd gone out with him."  
  
Nick decided to take a chance. "Hey, I, uh, do you want to do something tomorrow night?"  
  
Sara looked a little surprised.  
  
Nick continued. "I have the night off too and someone put a couple of tickets to a dinner cruise on my locker. Do you want to go?"  
  
Sara wasn't sure if he was asking her on a date, or if he was just trying to find someone to use the extra ticket. Either way, it sounded like fun. "Uh, sure."  
  
"Really?" Nick grinned at her. The thought of spending the evening with Sara outside of work was suddenly very exciting.  
  
"Yeah. It sounds like fun." She smiled at him, a bit amused by the grin that had overtaken his face.  
  
"You're sure?" Nick just wanted to make sure she actually wanted to go and wasn't doing it just to make him feel better.  
  
"Down, boy." Sara teased. "Yes, I want to go. I suppose I should probably dress up or something."  
  
Nick's expression visibly brightened. "I suppose you should."  
  
"And you'll probably have to do a little better than shirt." There were a few shirts that Nick owned that Sara had a particular distaste for and the one he was wearing at that moment was her least favorite of all of them.  
  
"Hey, what's wrong with this shirt?" He feigned a hurt expression.  
  
"It's hideous." Sara grimaced. "I think I've mentioned that before. In fact, I think Catherine has too."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Well I'd rather ruin an ugly shirt at a crime scene than one that I wear all the time."  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow. "Nick, you wear that shirt all the time."  
  
"So it's Murphy's Law that I never work a decomp when I wear this shirt. Maybe it's just my lucky shirt." Nick defended with a smirk.  
  
"Maybe I should steal that shirt." Sara was only half joking.  
  
Nick let out a deep chuckle.  
  
"But if you wear that shirt, you'll be going to that dinner cruise alone." Sara smirked at him.  
  
"Pick you up at seven?" Nick smiled.  
  
"Yeah." Sara felt a faint blush creeping into her cheeks as they pulled into the parking lot of the lab. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sara didn't realize how much she was looking forward to spending the evening with Nick until she had changed her clothes for the third time. She sat down on the edge of her bed and let out a chuckle, finally deciding that the subtle differences between her three basic black dresses from three subsequent department holiday parties didn't merit this much attention. She glanced up and noticed a dress that had been hanging in her closet almost as long as she'd lived in Vegas. Determined, she walked over and pulled it out, wondering why she'd never worn it before, but then chided herself that she'd always thought she'd save it for a special occasion, a special occasion that would never happen. For some reason when she'd seen this dress, she'd thought of Grissom, and now that every hope she'd ever had that he'd ever do something about the feelings she knew that he'd had was gone, she decided that tonight was the perfect occasion for this dress. She didn't want to see it as a reminder anymore of what she couldn't have, she wanted to see it and be reminded of a nice evening with a good friend, a good friend who just happened to be devastatingly handsome.  
  
With a half smile on her face, Sara pulled the simple spaghetti strapped dress on and stepped in front of the mirror that adorned her bedroom closet. She had to admit that the deep sapphire blue dress helped her in all the right places. She debated momentarily about doing something to her hair, but as she heard a knock at the door, she decided that it was just going to have to stay naturally curly.  
  
Nick's expression was a mixture of surprise and pleasure as Sara opened the door. He found himself a bit speechless for a moment as he regarded her in that dress. It wasn't that he didn't know she was a beautiful woman, it was just that he so seldom saw her in a dress, that seeing her in this dress just took his breath away.  
  
Sara chuckled softly at Nick's expression. "Are you going to stand there all night staring at me or do you want to come in for a moment?" Sara was clearly amused at Nick's reaction. She was going to have to store it away in her memory to pull out when she was having a bad day.  
  
He realized that he'd forgotten about the bouquet of tulips in his hand and with a sheepish smile, he held them out to her as he entered her apartment. "I thought you might like these."  
  
The surprised smile that took over Sara's face was priceless. She took the flowers from him and impulsively kissed his cheek. "Ah, Nick, how sweet. Thank you."  
  
He just grinned. "You look pretty."  
  
Sara suddenly felt a little nervous. Here she was all dressed up and getting ready to go out with her coworker. She smiled at him as she took in his appearance. "You look nice too."  
  
And he did. The suit was something he didn't pull out often, but for some reason, he felt compelled to wear it. The crisp white shirt underneath simply made the black suit look even blacker and his tie coincidentally was a deep blue, very similar in shade to Sara's dress.  
  
Nick felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach for a moment. "Thanks." He smiled at Sara feeling a moment of awkward silence. "I left my shirt at home."  
  
Sara looked at him a bit quizzically for a moment, not quite catching what he was saying.  
  
He felt a bit flustered. "The ugly one I mean."  
  
Sara felt her smile give way to a giggle. "Good." She looked at him appreciatively for a moment and then stepped forward to adjust his tie which was just a little bit askew. "You look much better in this one."  
  
"Glad you think so." He smiled at her as she stepped back. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." She glanced down at the flowers in her hand and then glanced up again. "I suppose I should probably put these in water first." She felt herself blushing slighty, wondering silently to herself why spending the evening with Nick should make her feel like this as she found a vase and filled it with water.  
  
Nick studied her as she moved easily about her kitchen, putting the flowers in water, watching how her dress accentuated her figure. He glanced away as she came out of the kitchen so she wouldn't catch him staring at her.  
  
"I think I'm ready." Sara smiled at him.  
  
Nick looked at her a bit quizzically, glancing at her feet. "Uh, are you sure?"  
  
Sara regarded him curiously as he began to chuckle. "Yeah, why?"  
  
He pointed at her feet and smiled softly. "I think you forgot your shoes."  
  
Sara glanced down and noticed that she was wearing a pair of fluffy blue slippers, one with a moon and the other with a star on it. She smirked at him to try and hide the color that began to flood her cheeks. "I'll be right back."  
  
"I'll be right here." Nick called out as she disappeared down the hallway and into her bedroom.  
  
It took her a few minutes to regain her composure and to find the pair of shoes that she'd bought for this dress. Underneath two other shoe boxes in the top of her closet she located the pair of shoes that she had intended to pull out earlier. Slipping them on, she glanced at herself in the mirror on the door of her closet and smiled. If she was being honest, she'd have to admit that she looked good.  
  
Nick glanced up as she emerged from her bedroom. He looked at her feet and felt the corners of his mouth pulling upward into a smile. "I like your shoes." His smile widened. "They're very strappy."  
  
Sara giggled. His comment had broken the awkward tension that she'd been feeling ever since she'd opened the door. After all this was Nick, they had worked countless cases together and they were just going out to spend the evening together. The fact that he looked incredibly handsome and she knew her dress rendered him speechless aside, she wanted to just go and have a good time. "I don't think they're quite your size." She smirked at him  
  
Nick let out a soft chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind." He offered her his arm. "What do you say we get out of here?"  
  
She smiled at him genuinely as she linked her arm with his. "Sounds like a good idea."  
  
They made their way out to the parking lot and Sara looked around quizzically. "Where's your Denali?"  
  
She had a concerned expression on her face and didn't notice that Nick was unlocking the door to a charcoal gray Porsche Boxster convertible "I borrowed a friend's car."  
  
She glanced over and tried to restrain her smile as Nick opened the door for her.  
  
"I wanted to take you out in style, show you how you should be treated." There was a hint of uncertainty in his expression as if he wasn't sure if he should be trying to impress her.  
  
All pretense of restraining her smile faded. "This is really nice. Completely unnecessary, but really nice. Thank you." She kissed his cheek and then climbed into the sleek sports car.  
  
The uncertainty in Nick's expression turned into a smile as he closed the car door and went around to the driver's side, sliding in behind the wheel. He glanced over at Sara as he turned the key in the ignition, and the thought occurred to him at that moment that he was an idiot for never asking her out before. 


	3. Chapter 3

They had been walking around the upper deck of the boat taking in the scenery and had paused at the railing for a moment as they talked when Sara heard a voice behind her that made her stiffen.  
  
"Hey, Nick Stokes." The voice sounded almost too happy.  
  
Nick could feel his jaw clenching slightly as he forced a smile on his face and turned around. "Hank. How's it going man?" He could tell that Sara was very uncomfortable at the moment and was doing her best to keep her cool.  
  
"I'm good." Hank still hadn't noticed Sara standing against the railing looking out a the lake. Hank leaned towards Nick a bit conspiratorially. "I'm proposing to Elaine tonight." He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.  
  
"That's great." Nick hoped that Hank had wised up after he'd hurt Sara. It seemed apparent that he had still never told his girlfriend about cheating on her.  
  
Hank glanced around. "You here alone?"  
  
Sara took a deep breath and turned around, smirking at Hank. "No, he's with me."  
  
Nick restrained his amusement at the shock that registered on Hank's face momentarily at seeing Sara. "You remember Sara."  
  
Hank swallowed hard. "Hi." There was much conveyed in that one word. Regret. Embarrassment. Awkwardness. Shame.  
  
"Hi." Sara realized that although he'd hurt her, she had gotten past it a long time ago. "So you're going to ask her to marry you."  
  
Hank nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"I hope you plan on treating her right." Sara's words contained no malice, but simply an admonishment that what he'd done had hurt and it would hurt Elaine even more if he ever repeated his folly.  
  
"I'm really sorry, Sara." Hank furrowed his brow. It was evident that if he had met her at a different time and place in his life, things might have turned out differently.  
  
"Yeah." Sara smiled softly, finding herself threading her arm through Nick's as she saw Elaine approach.  
  
"There you are, sweetie." The petite woman approached with a smile. "I go check my coat in and you disappear."  
  
"Elaine, you remember Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle." Hank smiled at her and gestured towards the pair of CSIs.  
  
Elaine could tell they looked familiar and she smiled as extended her hand. "Forgive me, but I can't remember where we met." She glanced at Hank for a moment.  
  
"We work at the crime lab." Sara offered as she shook Elaine's hand.  
  
A flash of recognition went across Elaine's face as she turned back towards Sara. "Oh, you investigated that accident I was in at the restaurant."  
  
Sara nodded trying to figure out how to extricate her and Nick from the conversation.  
  
"If you'll excuse us, we need to go find our table." It seemed that Hank was thinking the same thing as he politely detached them from the situation.  
  
"It was nice to see you again. I hope you two have a nice evening." Elaine smiled as she let Hank lead her towards the steps that went down to one of the dining areas.  
  
Sara let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and glanced at Nick who was studying her.  
  
"You ok?" Nick looked sincerely concerned. The graciousness that she had offered Hank and Elaine hadn't surprised him really, just reinforced in his mind as to the kind of character she had.  
  
Sara nodded and then furrowed her brow as a tear surprised her. "I think I could use a hug though."  
  
Nick enveloped her in his arms and held her for a moment, whispering into her ear. "You were always too good for him, Sar."  
  
She let out a soft chuckle as she pulled out of his embrace, smiling at him. "Thanks."  
  
"Anytime." He grinned at her. "Have I told you how pretty you look tonight?"  
  
Sara felt her cheeks flushing a little as she looked at him. "You don't look so bad yourself."  
  
Nick offered her his arm again cocking his eyebrow. "You hungry?"  
  
She threaded her arm through his again and smiled. "Yeah, maybe we should find our table."  
  
When they found their table, it happened to be across the room from where Hank and Elaine were sitting. Nick glanced over at Sara as they waited for the salad course to arrive. "Do you want me to see if we can get another table?"  
  
Sara let out a sigh and smiled, shaking her head. "I'm fine." She glanced over to where Hank and Elaine were and then back at Nick. "Let's not let that ruin the evening. I came with you because I thought we'd have a good time."  
  
He grinned at her. "Ok then."  
  
The salad arrived and as they began to eat, they chatted about their families and the differences between being an only child and being the youngest of seven.  
  
"I don't think they'll ever let me live that one down." Nick commented with a grin as he popped a piece of broccoli in his mouth.  
  
"Your dad really claimed you as a girl on his tax return?" Sara looked at him a bit gape jawed.  
  
Nick nodded. "Yes, he did." He began to gesture with his fork. "You know, son, daughter, daughter, daughter, daughter, daughter, daughter." He winked with the last one. "It wasn't until after he'd mailed it that he realized his mistake. He had to send in an amendment to his return."  
  
Sara couldn't help but laugh. "Did your sisters ever dress you up?"  
  
Nick's cheeks turned a little pink. "Once that I remember, and then my mom put a stop to it."  
  
Sara's eyebrows arched upward in curiosity. "What did they dress you up in?"  
  
His cheek turned a little pinker. "A tutu."  
  
Sara giggled. "I wish I could have seen that. Nick Stokes in a tutu."  
  
He raised his eyebrow and pointed his fork at her. "I was three and went by Nicky at the time." He leaned over the table a bit and whispered. "They did take a picture though."  
  
Sara's eyes widened as she started to giggle harder. "Is it still around?"  
  
He grinned. "Oh, my sisters have made sure of that. I'm sure that they'd send it to you, but then I'd have to tell you how to get in touch with them and I'm not sure I want that picture circulating around the lab."  
  
She looked slightly offended. "Don't you trust me?"  
  
He chuckled. "Oh, I'd trust you with my life, just not with that picture."  
  
She smirked at him and took another bite of her entrée. Her expression changed for a moment as if she had just remembered something. "Hey, do you have your cell phone? I left mine at my apartment."  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, what's wrong?"  
  
"Oh, I just need to make a quick phone call." She looked at him earnestly.  
  
Nick handed his cell phone over without question and took another bite of his food.  
  
Sara looked at the phone intently for a moment and then pressed a few buttons and glanced over at Nick. A mischievous smile flitted across her face.  
  
Nick became immediately suspicious. "What are you doing?"  
  
She just smirked as someone on the other end of the line picked up. "Hi, this is Sara Sidle, I work with Nick."  
  
Nick's eyes widened.  
  
"Uh, huh." She looked at him and chuckled. "He has. That's interesting."  
  
Nick extended his hand and raised an eyebrow as if to ask for the phone.  
  
Sara shook her head. "Well the reason I'm calling is because Nick mentioned a picture that one of you took." She let out a giggle. "Yeah, the tutu picture."  
  
"Sara, which one of my sisters are you talking to?" Nick reached for the phone.  
  
Sara just sat back in her chair a little further just out of his reach and smirked. "Uh, huh, S-I-D-L-E. First initial, last name. Great, I'll look forward to seeing it."  
  
"Sara, tell me you did not just do that." Nick looked a bit embarrassed.  
  
"He's right here." Sara winked at Nick. "Oh, no, we have the night off. We're on a dinner cruise on Lake Mead." Her eyebrows arched upward. "Really. I didn't know that." She smiled at Nick as he started to chuckle. "I'll have to ask him about that. Ok, then. I'll look forward to meeting you too sometime, Lisa." She ended the call and grinned at Nick.  
  
"Can I have my phone back now?" He held his hand out.  
  
She gave it back to him and smiled. "Your sister Lisa told me some interesting things."  
  
Nick felt the collar of his shirt suddenly get tighter. "Oh, really?"  
  
Sara nodded and finished off the rest of her entrée. "Yeah, she told me that you talk about me a lot."  
  
"I tell my family about all the people I work with." Nick wasn't sure why he was defending himself.  
  
Sara chuckled at his discomfort and winked. "Oh, and she's emailing me that picture of you in the tutu." 


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Ok, the inspiration for the tutu came from something my three sisters and I actually did to our younger brother when he was three, and yes, there are pictures. The tax return thing also came from real life. We still like to tease my brother about it, and he always retorts that my dad amended the return and fixed the problem.

* * *

Nick looked at Sara with a curious smile as they danced to a slow song along with the other dinner cruise guests. They were on the edge of the dance floor near their table. "You aren't going to share that picture are you?" There was a hint of worry creasing his forehead.  
  
Sara smirked. "I don't know, if you didn't want everyone to see it, why did you tell me about it?"  
  
He let out a chuckle and raised his eyebrows. "You're not everyone."  
  
Sara felt her smirk being tugged into a smile. "Oh, so what your sister said then is true?" She still hadn't told Nick exactly what Lisa had said, but as she watched panic flash across his face, she had a pretty good idea that he knew what she'd said.  
  
Nick's grip on Sara's waist tightened slightly. "What exactly did she tell you?" He looked worried but the tone of his voice was intentionally light.  
  
Sara let out a soft laugh. "I don't know if I should tell you." She had a mischievous expression on her face.  
  
Nick shook his head and chuckled. "And how did you figure out that was my sister Lisa's number anyway?''  
  
Sara rolled her eyes slightly. "Does the name 'Zippy' do anything for you?"  
  
Nick pursed his lips together for a moment, wondering when he would have told her that.  
  
Sara laughed. "Nick, remember I'm a CSI. Besides I figured anyone that you'd put in your phone by their nickname had to be related."  
  
He looked a little sheepish and then chuckled as the song finished and they stepped off the dance floor to sit at their table. "I still can't believe you did that. I honestly thought you needed to call the lab about something."  
  
She deadpanned. "Me? Call the lab on my night off?"  
  
Nick leaned in and whispered in her ear as they sat down. "Don't look now, but Hank and Elaine are headed this way."  
  
Sara found herself glancing over just as Elaine was pulling Hank in their direction. Sara looked back at Nick. "Would it be too obvious if I went to the ladies room?"  
  
Nick chuckled and whispered again. "I think it's too late." He put a smile on his face as the couple stopped next to their table.  
  
Elaine was beaming. It was obvious by the diamond engagement ring on her finger that Hank's mission had been successful. "He proposed." The fact that she barely knew Nick and Sara didn't seem to matter as she just wanted to tell someone her news. She flashed the ring in front of them.  
  
Sara forced a smile. "Wow, that's great." She glanced at Hank who had an apologetic expression on his face for interrupting and then she felt a genuine smile replace her forced one. She truly wanted to be happy for Hank. "Congratulations."  
  
Elaine didn't seem to pick on the undercurrent of tension as she squeezed Hank's hand and then looked at Nick and Sara again. "Who knows, maybe you two will be next."  
  
Sara's eyebrows shot up and she tried to keep her expression neutral as she looked over at Nick. "Uh, we're not." She didn't want to make any assumptions about their evening out, regardless of how much she was enjoying Nick's company.  
  
Nick smiled at her though and stopped her comment cold as he reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze, before looking back at Elaine and Hank. "First date."  
  
Hank's eyebrows arched upward in understanding and Elaine looked a bit embarrassed at her assumption. "Oh, I'm sorry." She giggled.  
  
Hank put his arm around Elaine's shoulders and smiled. "Setting the bar pretty high there for a first date, Stokes."  
  
Nick glanced over at Sara and squeezed her hand, a grin spreading across his face. "I think she's worth it."  
  
Sara's face flushed with color and she nervously reached for her water glass, taking a sip to try and get the attention off of her.  
  
"Honey, we should let them be alone so they can enjoy the rest of the cruise." Hank could tell Sara was uncomfortable and began propelling Elaine back to their table.  
  
"Have fun." Elaine waved as they walked away, her smile getting bigger as she noticed the flash of diamond on her left hand.  
  
Sara let out a nervous laugh, not quite looking at Nick who still held her hand. "Well that wasn't at all awkward."  
  
Nick's thumb began caressing the back of her hand. "Do you want to go for a walk on the upper deck?"  
  
As she looked at him fully, she noticed concern on his face and nodded. "Fresh air sounds really good."  
  
Without letting go of her hand, Nick stood up and led Sara towards the stairwell that led to the upper deck, smiling at her reassuringly. As they walked across the deck, Sara shivered. Nick glanced over. "You cold?"  
  
She tried to restrain her smile. "It's a little chilly up here." She chuckled softly when he so predictably shrugged his suit jacket off and pulled it around her shoulders.  
  
"What?" Nick looked at her curiously.  
  
She shook her head. "Nothing. You are ever the gentleman though." She smiled as he laughed.  
  
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Nick defended with a grin.  
  
Sara shook her head again. "No, it's not a bad thing; I'm just not used to being treated like this."  
  
He slung his arm over her shoulder as they continued walking. "Warmer?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks." She kept thinking about what Nick had said when Hank and Elaine had stopped at their table. She furrowed her brow and stopped, glancing up at Nick who regarded her expression with interest. "Nick?"  
  
"Yeah?" He turned to face her, watching the conflicting emotions on her face.  
  
In a nervous gesture, Sara hugged the jacket around her a bit tighter. There were several things that she wanted to say, but none of them seemed willing to come out. Instead she found that her mouth had a mind of its own when it came to speech. "Thanks for letting me wear your jacket." As soon as she heard the words in her own ears she thought she sounded like a teenage girl wearing some guy's letterman jacket instead of a grown woman out with a man that she found attractive.  
  
He smiled at her. "Anytime." He studied her for a moment and felt nerves in his own stomach. "Hey, I was thinking." He felt his throat constrict slightly as she looked at him.  
  
"Be careful, you might hurt yourself." Sara's quip came out of nowhere, but it helped relieve the tension a bit.  
  
Nick looked at her for a moment and then started laughing. "Very funny." He reached over and tucked a curl behind her ear, his expression softening as he looked at her in the moonlight. "You look very pretty."  
  
Sara tried to swallow her embarrassed smile. "Was that what you were thinking?"  
  
Nick smirked. "Well, it was on my mind, but that wasn't what I was going to say."  
  
She smirked back. "What were you going to say?"  
  
He looked a bit apprehensive. "I was just thinking that Hank was an idiot, but I think I was an even bigger idiot."  
  
She looked at him a bit confused. "I know why Hank is an idiot, but why do you think you are?"  
  
He smiled at her. "I'm an idiot because I should have asked you to come here tonight as my date and not leave you in a position in front of your ex- boyfriend and his fiancée to wonder what my intentions are."  
  
Sara swallowed hard, her eyes widening. "You didn't know they would be here."  
  
He touched her cheek softly as he looked into her eyes. "I still should have asked you out, Sara."  
  
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she looked back at him. "You know it's not too late." 


	5. Chapter 5

Nick smiled at her as he tucked a stubborn curl behind her ear. "Yeah, I guess it's not."

Sara looked at him expectantly.  
  
Nick's fingers lingered against her cheek as he looked at her intently. He had thoroughly enjoyed spending the evening with her, and he wasn't ready to see it end quite yet. "What would you say to spending the night together?"  
  
Sara's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks flush as she sucked in her breath in surprise. Nick certainly had a reputation around the lab, but she was incredulous that he would be so forward. Her voice wavered a bit as she spoke. "Nick."  
  
Nick's eyebrows shot up and he pulled his hand away as he realized how his words must have sounded. "Uh, that's not what I meant."  
  
Sara's face still registered shock.  
  
Suddenly, Nick's tie seemed to be inordinately tight. He raised his hands in surrender. "I don't want to have sex with you."  
  
Sara wasn't sure whether to be relieved or insulted. Confusion flickered across her face.  
  
Nick grimaced. "I mean I do want to have sex with you; just not tonight." He realized as he watched Sara's expression that this wasn't a much better statement than his last one.  
  
Sara raised a single eyebrow and still didn't say a word.  
  
Nick felt completely flustered. "Uh." He swallowed hard. "I, what I'm trying to say is, I'm attracted to you. I just think it's too soon to cross that line."  
  
Sara crossed her arms in front of her body.  
  
"I mean assuming that you're even interested in me like that." He couldn't read her expression. "Because that's pretty presumptuous of me to assume that you are just because I think you're the sexiest woman I've ever met."  
  
Sara felt the corners of her mouth twitch ever so slightly upwards at his declaration of sorts.  
  
Nick put a hand to his forehead and let out a deep breath. "This is coming out all wrong." He gave Sara a sheepish look.  
  
She pursed her lips together in an effort to keep from smiling.  
  
Nick's eyebrows shot up again. "I mean, I really do think you're sexy as hell, I just don't think, I mean, I just meant that you and I were already here and we're not working tonight." Nick was incredulous that Sara Sidle could leave him so utterly tongue tied.  
  
Sara reached over and touched his arm, her smile slowly spreading across her face. "You're cute when you're flustered."  
  
Nick let out a nervous chuckle and shook his head before looking into Sara's eyes. "Can I try that again?"  
  
She looked at him with a bit of amusement as she stepped towards him, resting her hands on his biceps. "Just so I'm clear. You're attracted to me?"  
  
Nick nodded.  
  
Sara began to smile as Nick's hands rested on her waist. "And you wouldn't mind seeing me naked."  
  
Embarrassment flashed across Nick's face. "Sara."  
  
She looked a little smug. "But it seems to me that you still haven't officially asked me on a date."  
  
Nick tried to smile. "I was trying to get to that before I put my foot in my mouth."  
  
Sara smirked. "Is that what that was?"  
  
Nick let out a soft chuckle. "I'm really sorry, I guess I'm a little nervous."  
  
She giggled. "Yeah, I can tell, although I'm not sure why since I plan on saying yes."  
  
Nick pulled Sara a little closer. "You are, are you?" He let out a soft chuckle.  
  
Sara nodded with a smile. "Yeah."  
  
"Are you busy next Sunday?" He looked at her expectantly.  
  
"Sunday?" Sara replied curiously.  
  
Nick smiled. "Yeah, it's the Fourth of July."  
  
Sara felt a faint blush creep into her cheeks. "I'm pretty sure I'm off the calendar since they'd have to pay me time and a half."  
  
Nick played coy. "Well, what a coincidence. I have the night off too."  
  
Sara chuckled. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a goof?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow and tried to sound stern. "Hey, I'm in the middle of asking you on a date here; do you mind?"  
  
She giggled. "By all means, continue."  
  
He grinned and his voice softened. "Do you want to go watch fireworks together?"  
  
Sara nodded. "Yes, but on one condition."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Oh, and what would that be?"  
  
"Tell me why you call your sister 'Zippy'." She smirked at him.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow at her. "Before I do, what exactly did she say to you?"  
  
Sara smirked. "Exactly?"  
  
Nick rolled his eyes slightly and chuckled. "What did she say?"  
  
"Well it seems you talk about me. A lot." Sara smiled.  
  
Nick knew he'd been caught. "Ok, so I might have mentioned you to her before."  
  
Sara continued, a flirtatious tone in her voice. "Apparently, you've been mentioning me for a few years."  
  
Nick cleared his throat. "Ok, so I might have said something about you when I first met you."  
  
Sara giggled. "Admit it, Nick. You like me, and you have for a while."  
  
Nick feigned confusion. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Ms. Sidle."  
  
"You're a horrible liar." She grinned at him with a smug expression.  
  
"Ok, so I'll admit that I like you. Is that a bad thing?" Nick grinned back at her.  
  
Sara shook her head. "No, I'd say it's a good thing. Now why do you call her 'Zippy'?"  
  
"She likes clowns." Nick stated with a smirk.  
  
Sara looked at him a bit doubtfully. "Clowns."  
  
Nick nodded. "Lisa insisted on dressing up as one every Halloween until my mom made her a clown suit. She earned extra money in high school doing parties for children as 'Zippy the Clown'. The name just stuck."  
  
Sara giggled. "And did you ever perform with Zippy; say in your tutu?"  
  
Nick protested. "They only dressed me up that one time."  
  
"Sure." Sara looked unconvinced as she smirked at him.  
  
Nick decided to try and change the subject. "So I was going to ask you something before I put my foot in my mouth earlier."  
  
Sara looked at him with interest.  
  
"Since the cruise is almost over and we'd usually be up all night anyway at work, do you want to go do something else?" He looked at her with a hopeful expression.  
  
Sara furrowed her brow. "So basically you want to spend the night with me?" She couldn't keep the mischievous smile off of her face.  
  
"Now how come you can say that, but when I do, it comes across completely wrong?" Nick teased.  
  
Sara smirked. "I have an idea, let's go back to my apartment and watch a movie or play a game or something that doesn't involve me wearing these shoes anymore, my feet are killing me."  
  
Nick let out a soft chuckle. "Deal."  
  
"And one other thing." Sara continued with a smile.  
  
"Name it." Nick smiled back at her.  
  
"Thank you for this." She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him close. "I had a really good time tonight, even if Hank tried to ruin it." She stepped back for a moment before leaning up and pressing her lips against his softly in a brief kiss.  
  
Nick couldn't get the grin off of his face as she stepped away. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze as they made their way to the stairwell leading to the lower decks. Though Nick had gotten cold standing on the deck with his suit coat wrapped around Sara, the simple kiss she had placed on his lips had left him feeling very warm.


	6. Chapter 6

They descended the steps to the lower deck where their table was and realized at that moment that the boat was quickly approaching the marina. Sara cast a regretful glance at Nick and he let out a soft chuckle as he squeezed her hand.

"I had a good time too." He grinned at her and was rewarded with a smile that revealed the gap in her front teeth.

Sara found herself leaning her head against Nick's shoulder, oblivious to the rest of the crowd as they waited in a meandering line until they could disembark. Hand in hand they made their way off of the boat and out to the parking lot where the Porsche Nick had borrowed was parked. After settling Sara in the passenger seat, he jogged around to the driver's side, overhearing a comment just before he opened the door.  
  
"Now there's a guy looking to get laid. I knew Stokes was only going out with her to get into her pants." Hanks voice carried farther than he probably realized.  
  
"Hank, shut up, that wasn't very nice." Elaine had a bit of exasperation in her voice.  
  
Nick glanced over to see the newly engaged couple in an argument over his motives with Sara. He shook his head and opened the door, glancing over and grinning at Sara as he slid behind the wheel of the sports car. He was so glad that she hadn't ended up with that self absorbed jerk; he was only sad that she'd gotten hurt in the process.  
  
"So, what do you want to do when we get back to my apartment?" Sara looked at him, her smile still wide and bright.  
  
"Do you want to rent a movie?" His eyebrows arched as he looked at her quizzically.  
  
Sara reached over and rested her hand on his arm, caressing it with her thumb. "Sounds good. There's a video store near my apartment if you want to stop there."  
  
Nick reached over and placed his hand over hers for a moment, giving it a quick squeeze before turning the key in the ignition. "It's a plan then."  
  
They shared the drive in a comfortable silence. After they'd gotten out on the main highway, Nick had reached over and taken Sara's hand in his, only letting go when he needed to downshift. As they approached the city, however, he turned his attention to the thicker traffic and followed Sara's directions to the video store.  
  
Walking up and down the aisles of the large video rental chain store, they browsed the different titles, exchanging soft touches and smiles.  
  
"Hey, this is a good one." Nick held out the DVD case to 'About a Boy' to Sara, his hand resting in the small of her back.  
  
Sara let out a chuckle and leaned against Nick. "I heard about this one, but I've never had a chance to see it."  
  
His ever present grin spread across his face as he reached over and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Ok, then, let's get it."  
  
They waited in a relatively short line, their hands linked together, and then paid the rental fee before heading back out into the parking lot. They had only been in the video store about a half an hour, but in that time it appeared that a man sitting in the driver's seat of a BMW had been shot because several police vehicles and a CSI Denali were in the parking lot a few cars down from where Nick had parked the Boxster.  
  
They exchanged a glance and made their way over to where they saw Grissom and Catherine standing near the crime scene tape; Nick and Sara both a bit oblivious to the fact that they were still holding hands.  
  
Catherine saw them approaching and did her best to keep her smile at bay as she noticed their linked hands. "Little dressed up for a crime scene."  
  
Grissom glanced over at her a bit perplexed as to what she was talking about until he followed her gaze to Nick and Sara. His eyebrows went up in surprise, not only at the two of them holding hands, but at the dress Sara was wearing. He had seen her dressed up a few times at holiday parties the department held each year, but that dress was something else. "You two have the night off. What are you doing here?" He furrowed his brow, realizing that he hadn't seen either of their cars in the parking lot.  
  
Nick gestured towards the building. "Uh, we were renting a movie and noticed you guys here when we came out."  
  
Grissom noticed that the pair was still holding hands. He looked at Sara quizzically. "Are you two on a date?" There was a hint of accusation and disbelief in his voice.  
  
Sara smirked at him, somewhat pleased that the dress she was wearing would in fact have gotten its desired reaction out of him, but also in irritation that he obviously thought she would have waited around for him forever. She squeezed Nick's hand before letting go. "As a matter of fact, we are."  
  
All restraint Catherine had put on her smile was released as it spread across her face. "So you dressed up to rent a movie." Her comment was designed to get a little more information out of the pair.  
  
Nick shook his head in response. "No, we went on a dinner cruise on Lake Mead and decided to rent a movie on the way back."  
  
Catherine mouthed 'I want to hear more later' as she turned to begin processing the car.  
  
Grissom furrowed his brow and gestured towards the BMW. "Did either of you see anything out of the ordinary?"  
  
Nick shook his head. "I don't recall seeing the car when we pulled in." His expression became a bit sheepish as he looked over at Sara. "But then, I wasn't really paying attention to the rest of the cars in the lot."  
  
Sara felt a blush color her cheeks. "Uh, I know I didn't see it, I think an SUV was parked there when we pulled in. I remember that Nick was worried that the guy was in a hurry to leave and was going to back out and hit the car."  
  
Grissom glanced at Nick with a curious expression. "Where are you parked?"  
  
Nick gestured towards the gray Boxster. "Over there."  
  
Just then, Greg jogged up, his expression a mixture of delight and disappointment as he noticed Nick and Sara's attire. "Hey, guys." He nodded in acknowledgement of Nick and Sara, taking an extra long glance at Sara before turning to his boss. "Grissom, the only car I can't find the owner for is the hot Porsche over there." He pointed towards the Boxster.  
  
"I'm the driver of the Porsche." Nick admitted sheepishly. "It belongs to a buddy of mine and I borrowed it for tonight."  
  
Greg's grin widened mischievously. "Are you two on a date?" He held out a faint glimmer of hope that the answer would be 'no'.  
  
Nick smiled at Greg as he felt Sara slip her hand into his again. "Yeah."  
  
Catherine walked back up. "Grissom."  
  
Grissom turned, noting her knitted brow.  
  
"I don't think he was shot here." She gestured towards the car.  
  
Grissom looked at Nick and Sara one last time before turning and following Catherine. "Give Brass a statement before you leave." Neither of them saw the wistful expression on his face as he walked away.  
  
Greg took in Sara's appearance again and smiled a little too wide. "So, Sara, how come you went on a date with Nick and you wouldn't go out with me?"  
  
Before Sara could answer, Nick interjected. "Greg man, save yourself a little dignity."  
  
The inordinate amount of attention was making Sara a little self conscious and she squeezed Nick's hand to get his attention, looking into his eyes as she spoke. "Let's go give Brass our statement so we can get out of here."  
  
"Ok." He flashed her a grin and let go of her hand, resting it in the small of her back as they headed in the direction of the homicide detective, oblivious to the several sets of CSI eyes watching them as they walked away.


	7. Chapter 7

Nick and Sara lounged on her couch eating popcorn as they watched the movie they had rented. Once they had given their statements to Brass about what they had and hadn't seen in the parking lot of the video store and had endured a bit more ribbing from him for stumbling across a crime scene while being on a date that no one knew they were on, they had come back to Sara's apartment where she had promptly kicked off her shoes.

Nick's arm was around Sara's shoulders and he was playing with her hair as she leaned her head against his shoulder. The movie was about halfway through when Nick made an observation out loud. "You have cute feet."  
  
"What?" Sara looked at him with befuddled amusement.  
  
"I said that I think you have cute feet." He repeated with a chuckle as he looked at the expression on her face.  
  
Sara looked at her feet which were propped up on the coffee table next to Nick's sock covered ones. She furrowed her brow and crossed her ankles. "I have big feet."  
  
"I think they're cute." Nick said decisively as if his observation was the last word on the subject.  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. "My feet are too big and my legs are too long."  
  
"No way." Nick clearly did not agree.  
  
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find women's shoes in a size 10? And I'm not even going to go into how hard it is to find jeans long and slim enough to fit me." Sara pursed her lips together in dissatisfaction.  
  
Nick's arm tightened around Sara's shoulder and he planted a kiss against her hair. "Sara, do you have any idea how sexy I think your legs are?"  
  
As much as she was flattered, she was also flustered by Nick's attention because she hadn't been treated like this by anyone for quite a while. She turned to look at him and smirked. "Do you think you could try paying attention to the movie?"  
  
Nick leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You're far better looking than Hugh Grant."  
  
Sara felt a faint blush creep into her cheeks. "Thanks, I think."  
  
Nick chuckled.  
  
"At least you didn't compare me to that woman in the fuzzy jacket." Sara replied in mock relief.  
  
"What? I think she's kind of hot." He couldn't keep the amusement off of his face. "In a hippie, grunge, granola sort of way."  
  
Sara's eyebrows curved upward. "Oh, so what you're saying is that if you had met my mother in the sixties you would have hit on her."  
  
Nick chuckled and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. "If she was as pretty as you I probably would have, but since I wasn't even a glimmer in my mother's eye at that point, I doubt it."  
  
A smile curled Sara's lips and she cleared her throat as she leaned her head back onto his shoulder again. Their attention drifted back to the movie and they sat there for a couple more minutes with only the TV providing dialogue. Nick couldn't seem to stop playing with Sara's hair.  
  
Sara started to giggle, breaking the silence between them. "Nick, this is so weird."  
  
He furrowed his brow and chuckled. "What's so weird?"  
  
"You. This." A shy smile spread across her face as she looked up at him. "Us."  
  
He smiled at her, trailing his fingers down the side of her cheek. "What's so weird about two people who like each other spending time together?"  
  
She looked up into his eyes. "But we've spent time together before. This is different."  
  
He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Yeah, it is different, but I kind of like it."  
  
"It's just going to take a little time getting used to wanting to kiss you." Sara confessed with a hint of color in her cheeks.  
  
Nick couldn't keep his smile from turning into a grin as he thought about the soft chaste kiss she'd given him on the upper deck of the boat during the dinner cruise. "So you want to kiss me again, huh?"  
  
She smiled and nodded, reaching up and touching his jaw with her fingertips. "Yeah, I do."  
  
Nick's grin widened. "That's good."  
  
Sara let out a nervous laugh.  
  
"Because I want to kiss you too." He leaned in and softly touched his lips to hers in a soft, gentle kiss.  
  
Sara's eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the sensation of his lips on hers. They were soft and warm and firm. Her eyes opened as she felt him pull away and a smile spread across her face as she looked at him smiling at her. "That's going to take a little getting used to too."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Really?" He leaned in and kissed her longer and deeper than the first time, encouraged by Sara's response. As he pulled away several minutes later he grinned. "Is that helping?"  
  
Sara smirked. "Uh, uh." Her fingers trailed across his lips.  
  
He raised an eyebrow and smirked back impishly. "Maybe we need to practice then." His arms slid around her waist to pull her closer.  
  
Sara let out a deep throaty laugh. "Don't get carried away."  
  
He looked at her mischievously. "You want to stop?" The glint in his eyes clearly implied that he did not want to stop.  
  
She toyed with his loosened tie as she chuckled softly. "No, I don't want you to stop." She raised her eyebrow in warning and put her finger against his lips as he leaned back towards her for another kiss, stopping him momentarily. She looked him directly in the eye. "But you're not getting me naked tonight either." The firm tone she used told him that she meant what she said.  
  
He smiled sincerely and pulled her finger away from his lips. "Understood." He held her hand in his for a moment and just looked at her to let her know he was in complete agreement with what she said before he leaned in and kissed her again.


	8. Chapter 8

"So rumor has it you and Sara went on a date." Warrick closed his locker and attached his ID badge onto his belt. "Some kind of dinner cruise." He looked at Nick a bit skeptically.  
  
Nick restrained his smile as he closed the door to his own locker. "It's not a rumor, man."  
  
"So you're telling me that you took Sara, our Sara, on a date." Warrick's tone was unflappably big brother in tone.  
  
Nick nodded, his restraint losing its grip on his smile. "We had a good time too."  
  
"Just how good of a time are we talking about?" Warrick's interest had nothing to do with the fact that they were standing in a locker room, and he crossed his arms across his chest to emphasize that.  
  
"Step back, Rick." Nick chuckled at Warrick's protective stance. "We had a very good time, but if you think I would push things too far too soon with her then you don't know me as well as you think you do, bro."  
  
Just then the lady in question walked into the locker room with a smile on her face. "Hey, guys." She noticed the slight tension in the air and then looked at Nick quizzically.  
  
He grinned at her. "Warrick's just trying to defend your honor, Sar." He looked over at Warrick and raised his eyebrow.  
  
Sara smirked at the tall lanky man. "Thanks, but he was a perfect gentleman." She flashed a toothy smile Nick's direction as she opened her locker.  
  
"You'll let me know if he gets out of line won't you?" Warrick glanced at Nick with a meaningful stare as he directed his question to Sara.  
  
Sara let out a soft laugh as she clipped her ID badge to her belt. "I really don't think you need to worry, Warrick, but thank you."  
  
Warrick looked at Nick a bit warily. "Alright then."  
  
"In fact we're going out again." She smiled at Nick.  
  
Warrick let out a low chuckle as he regarded his two friends looking at each other with dopey grins on their faces. "So this date wasn't a one time thing then." He said it more to confirm what he was seeing than to question them.  
  
Nick shook his head, but kept his gaze on Sara. "No, definitely not a one time thing."  
  
Sara felt her cheeks flush a little and she glanced over at her locker as she shut the door. "I'll see you guys in the break room." She smiled at Nick again and then breezed past him and Warrick and out the door into the hallway.  
  
Warrick leaned his shoulder against the bay of lockers. "So how long has this been going on? I mean besides the fact that you've had a thing for her for years."  
  
Nick looked a little taken aback by Warrick's statement. "What do you mean 'years'?"  
  
Warrick scoffed. "Don't try and tell me that you haven't wanted to ask her out almost as long as she's worked her."  
  
"I'll admit that I've wanted to ask her out for a while, but I think 'years' is pushing it. Besides, she wouldn't have been interested before anyway." Nick defended.  
  
Warrick chuckled. "You didn't answer my other question. How long has this 'thing' been going on?"  
  
A pleased smile spread across Nick's face. "Last night was our first date."  
  
Warrick's eyebrows arched upwards. "And you took her on a dinner cruise."  
  
Nick nodded. "Someone taped an envelope to my locker with a couple of tickets in it and I asked her if she wanted to go." Nick gestured towards the locker room door indicating that they'd better get to the briefing.  
  
"Who gave you the tickets?" Warrick looked at him quizzically.  
  
Nick shook his head as they entered the hallway. "I have no idea. I didn't recognize the handwriting, but there's something vaguely familiar about it."  
  
"Uh, huh." Warrick looked doubtful.  
  
Nick held up his hands. "Seriously, man. I have no idea who put them there. But if I ever find out, I plan on thanking them." A wide smile spread across his face. "That was one of the best first dates I've ever had." He furrowed his brow for a moment. "Except for the part where Hank showed up."  
  
Warrick stopped. "Hank? You mean as in Hank?"  
  
Nick nodded. "Yeah, he was there on the dinner cruise with his girlfriend, or rather I should say fiancée; he proposed to her last night."  
  
Warrick looked concerned. "How did Sara take running into him?"  
  
"Better than I did, but then she didn't overhear what I did. I'm just glad she found out what he was really like before things ever got serious between them, even if it was the hard way." Nick replied thoughtfully.  
  
They entered the break room and noticed that the rest of the team was already assembled. Nick quickly took a seat next to Sara and exchanged a flirtatious smile with her before turning towards Grissom.  
  
The exchange wasn't lost on anyone else in the room, and while Catherine couldn't stop smiling, Grissom looked a bit perplexed by the whole turn of events. Warrick settled himself at the table after he'd poured himself a cup of coffee.  
  
Grissom glanced at Catherine with a raised eyebrow. "Where's Greg?"  
  
"Right here, boss." Greg sounded slightly out of breath. "I was just trying to finish running that test you wanted."  
  
Grissom looked at him with impatience. "Well?"  
  
"Still running." Greg grinned as he sat down and glanced over at Nick and Sara. He lowered his voice a bit conspiratorially. "So how was your hot date in the Porsche last night?" His tone implied quite a bit.  
  
Sara looked at Greg and narrowed her gaze into a glare.  
  
Nick could see her discomfort at being put on the hot seat and decided to nip thing in the bud. He cleared his throat and glanced around the table at the faces of his curious coworkers. "Sara and I had a nice time. We're going out again. End of story. We're not going to give all of you a play by play."  
  
Grissom's tone had an edge of exasperation. "Now if we're done discussing everyone's personal lives, we have work to do." He glanced over at Catherine. "Cath, I want you and Greg to follow up on our vic from the video store parking lot." He glanced down at the sheet in front of him and made some mental adjustments before looking up again. "Warrick, I want you and Sara to meet Vega. We've got a possible gang related drive by shooting a few blocks from the strip. The Sheriff is a little hot to contain this." He turned his attention to Nick as one corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "Nicky, you're with me."  
  
Nick felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Being paired with Grissom on a case after going on a date with Sara was akin to going target shooting with your girlfriend's father with a bull's eye on your shirt. He had a feeling that it was going to be a long shift. 


	9. Chapter 9

Nick felt a little like he'd been scorched reentering the earth's atmosphere after spending the shift working with Grissom. It wasn't that he had gotten an interrogation about his date with Sara; it was the exact opposite in fact. The anticipation of the questions that never came had him completely on edge. By the time they got back to the lab he was more than grateful to hole up in one of the labs to examine some fibers that they had collected while they'd processed the crime scene.

He was concentrating so much that he almost jumped out of his chair when he heard someone whispering in his ear. "What are you doing after shift?"  
  
"You scared the crap out of me, Sara." He looked at her a bit wide eyed trying to get his heart rate down to a normal level.  
  
She smirked at him. "Well that's a switch from last night."  
  
He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry; I just didn't hear you come in."  
  
Sara looked amused. "You know, you're cute when you're nervous."  
  
He smirked. "Who said I was nervous?" He raised an eyebrow in challenge.  
  
"Jumpy." She looked smug and leaned her hip against the workstation the microscope was on.  
  
He smiled. "Ok, so Grissom's got me a little on edge."  
  
She reached over and played at the collar of his button up shirt. "So did he give you the third degree about our date?" A smile spread across her face as she thought about the evening they had spent together.  
  
He shook his head, a bit perplexed. "That's just the thing, he didn't say a word."  
  
Sara furrowed her brow. "Are you serious?" She was a little surprised considering the look Grissom had on his face when he'd seen her in that dress.  
  
He chuckled softly and nodded. "You look disappointed."  
  
She crossed her arms in front of her body and pursed her lips together before responding. "I'm not disappointed. I'm just surprised that's all."  
  
Nick wasn't sure he believed her completely. "I saw how he looked at you in that dress, Sara. He was kicking himself for being stupid."  
  
"I don't care. He waited too long and I've moved on." She began to smile at him as she reached over and began to finger his collar again.  
  
"I didn't say you didn't move on." He grinned at her. "I just said that you looked damn sexy in that dress and any man that wasn't me last night was jealous." There was a mischievous tone in his voice.  
  
"You didn't answer my question." Sara had a flirtatious tone in her voice.  
  
Nick furrowed his brow. "What question was that?"  
  
She leaned towards him and whispered in his ear. "What are you doing after shift?"  
  
He looked at her with a sexy grin on his face. "What did you have in mind?"  
  
Neither one of them noticed that Catherine had appeared in the doorway. "Am I interrupting?"  
  
Sara stepped back and smiled a bit too widely. "Uh, no. I, uh." She furrowed her brow thoughtfully and glanced at Nick before turning back towards Catherine. "Uh, I need to go check on something I left with Jacqui."  
  
As Sara quickly left, Catherine turned and gave Nick a smug smile. "So how was your date?"  
  
He smiled widely. "I said I wasn't going to give a play by play."  
  
Catherine deadpanned. "That's when Greg was in the room. Spill it."  
  
Nick chuckled softly. "We had a good time, Catherine."  
  
"And you're going out again." She added for him.  
  
He nodded with a grin. "Yeah, we are. I didn't think she'd ever go out with me."  
  
Catherine gave him a knowing smile. "Nicky, you've liked her for a long time."  
  
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" He wasn't sure why he was protesting so much.  
  
Catherine let out a deep throaty laugh. "Because it's true." She put her hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a more serious expression. "I was actually coming to see how working with Grissom went."  
  
Nick just shook his head. "Fine. A little too fine if you ask me."  
  
Catherine looked amused. "Nick, he's a professional. What did you expect; to get thrown to the wolves or something?"  
  
Nick tried to restrain a smirk. "Something like that."  
  
Catherine gave him a motherly look. "He knows it's too late, Nick. Besides, I think Sara really likes you."  
  
Nick looked a little anxious as a grin spread across his face. "You think so?"  
  
It was all Catherine could to not laugh. "Yeah, I do. I think the two of you are good for each other. You're different enough to balance each other out."  
  
Nick's grin continued to grow. "Thanks, Cath."  
  
She smiled. "Hey, I'm having a barbecue on the Fourth of July, you and Sara are invited if you want to come."  
  
Nick furrowed his brow for a moment. "Uh, we kind of made plans to go watch the fireworks together."  
  
"Nick, the fireworks don't start until after dark." There was a teasing tone in her voice. "Besides, Lindsey would love to see you."  
  
"I'll talk to Sara." Just the mention of her name made him smile.  
  
As Catherine turned to leave, a smile spread across her face and she let out a soft chuckle.  
  
Nick didn't run into Sara again until shift was over. He had been so focused on getting the fibers analyzed that he'd lost track of time, and now as he entered the locker room, he saw her standing there next to her locker. "Hey." His smile widened as she glanced up.  
  
Sara's lips curled upward. "Hey." She grabbed her purse out of her locker and shut the door. "Are you taking off?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah." He opened his locker and stowed his gear. "You never got to finish telling me what was on your mind earlier." He winked at her as closed his locker.  
  
Her smile was a bit mischievous. "Walk me out."  
  
"Ok." He gave her a curious grin and followed as she headed towards the parking lot.  
  
As they neared her vehicle, she slowed her pace and glanced over at him. "You know, I had a really good time with you."  
  
"I'm glad." He grinned at her as she unlocked her Denali and then turned around to face him.  
  
"I was hoping maybe we could just hang out for a while this morning." She smiled at him a bit hopefully.  
  
He nodded, his grin widening even further. "I'd like that."  
  
"Good." She stepped towards him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. As she stepped back, her smile revealed the gap in her front teeth. "I'll see you at my apartment then."  
  
Nick just nodded, a dopey grin firmly etched on his face.  
  
From across the parking lot, Warrick watched the interaction from inside his vehicle and just shook his head as he let out a low chuckle.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey." Sara smiled as she opened the door of her apartment to Nick.

"Hey." He grinned at her and leaned over and gave her a quick kiss as he came inside.  
  
"Are you hungry?" She looked at him knowing full well that the man seemed to always be able to eat.  
  
He chuckled. "Do you even have to ask?"  
  
She smirked. "I thought so." She gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen. "I'm making French toast."  
  
He came up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder as she continued with her preparations. "So Catherine invited us to a barbecue on the Fourth of July."  
  
Sara couldn't help her smile. "So we're an 'us' now."  
  
Nick felt a nervous sensation in the pit of his stomach. "Well I told her we were going to go watch the fireworks together. She suggested that we come over first. I mean if you want to."  
  
Sara was quiet for a moment.  
  
Apparently it was too long, because Nick started to fumble with his words. "I mean if you don't want to go, we don't have to."  
  
"Are you asking my permission?" She turned her head slightly to look at him. Her expression was full of amusement.  
  
"Uh, no. I mean, yes. I mean, I didn't want to give her an answer until I talked to you." He looked a little sheepish.  
  
Sara giggled. "We can do whatever you want." She anticipated the expression on his face as she turned her attention back to making the French toast. "Except that."  
  
"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Nick feigned innocence.  
  
She just rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she began placing the bread dipped in the egg mixture into the frying pan.  
  
Nick just watched her for a moment, his chin still resting on her shoulder. "Uh, I know we haven't really talked about this, but I was thinking." He took a deep breath and continued. "We've been on one date and we're going out again on Sunday, and technically this isn't a date, but we're both here together alone."  
  
Sara giggled. "Nick, what are you trying to say?" There was part of her that knew where the conversation was going, but she wanted to hear him say it.  
  
"I'm not sure how to say this without sounding like a teenager." He let out a soft chuckle. "I don't want to just take you on dates, Sara. I want to date you."  
  
She turned her head towards him and smiled. "Ok." She watched as a grin spread across his face before he leaned in and kissed her.  
  
They stood like that for a moment, Sara's neck awkwardly craned as they shared a sweet kiss until the smoke alarm in her kitchen went off and the two of them sprung apart wide eyed at the realization that the French toast was burning.  
  
Sara quickly pulled it off the burner and Nick grabbed an oven mitt and began to wave it underneath the smoke alarm in an attempt to get it to shut off. Once they'd dumped the charred remains of the French toast into the trash and got the smoke to clear, Sara started over.  
  
"Maybe you should stand over there until I finish making this." Sara gave Nick a stern look in spite of the smile that was forming on her face.  
  
He looked smug. "Just because you can't do two things at once, I get punished."  
  
She tried to glare at him and ended up laughing instead. "Nick, over there." She pointed to the other side of the counter.  
  
He grinned at her. "Ok, so no kissing while you're cooking. I got it."  
  
A short time later they sat side by side on Sara's couch, their shoulders leaning against each other as they ate platefuls of French toast.  
  
Nick grinned at her. "This is really good."  
  
"I should hope so, since that's your second helping." She teased him as she put another forkful into her mouth.  
  
"I was hungry." He nudged her with his arm. "And at least I'm not having thirds."  
  
Sara protested. "Hey, I'm eating them one slice at a time. You've still had twice as much as I have."  
  
He popped another bite into his mouth.  
  
"So how did Catherine manage to get the Fourth of July off anyway?" Sara looked at Nick curiously.  
  
"She got Eliot from Days to cover." Nick answered, popping another bite in his mouth.  
  
"Who?" Sara didn't think she'd heard the name.  
  
"New guy just moved here from Michigan. I think he'd like to transfer to our shift." Nick chuckled. "He's probably figured out who the better boss to have is."  
  
"I don't know anyone on Days that really likes working for Ecklie, with the exception of Burns." Sara added.  
  
Nick laughed. "Yeah, he's just like him." He looked over at her and nudged her arm. "So you didn't say whether or not you wanted to go to Catherine's barbecue."  
  
She smiled. "Yeah, I do. I think it'll be fun."  
  
"Good." He grinned and leaned over to kiss her.  
  
"Nick." Her tone stopped him cold as she looked him in the eye with an eyebrow raised.  
  
He looked at her with confusion on his face. "What?"  
  
"The plates." She gestured towards the syrup laden dishes in both of their hands.  
  
He grinned at her and took the plate out of her hand and set it on her coffee table, placing his own on top of it. "Better?"  
  
She just smirked. "I wasn't done."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you'll starve. That's your third helping."  
  
She swatted at him, a smile spreading across her face as his face neared. "You still ate more than I did."  
  
He paused a fraction of an inch from her lips. "And proud of it." He leaned in and kissed her, his arms snaking their way around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.


	11. Chapter 11

Sara was about ready to ring Catherine's doorbell when Nick pulled her hand away. "Wait just a second." He had a mischievous grin on his face.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?"  
  
"Because I don't want to go in quite yet." He waggled his eyebrows at her and leaned over and kissed her.  
  
Sara giggled against his lips for a moment and then slid her arms around his neck, allowing him to deepen the kiss as she felt him slide his arms around her waist and pull her against him. They stutter stepped towards the doorframe in the midst of their lip lock where Sara's rear end hit the doorbell.  
  
The pair reluctantly pulled apart as they heard someone coming to the door, but they couldn't quite get rid of the dopey grins on their faces.  
  
"Glad you decided to come." Catherine smiled at Nick and Sara as she opened the door. She took in their appearance for a moment and couldn't resist a barb. "Nice outfits."  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Nick. "I told you I should have changed my shirt when you showed up in that."  
  
He smirked at her. "It's the Fourth of July. Flag T-shirts are in."  
  
"Everyone's in the backyard." Catherine commented as she closed the door and chuckled at the banter between the pair.  
  
"You look cute, Sara." Nick grinned at her as they followed Catherine through the house.  
  
"We match." She responded dryly. "I should have known better when you bought me this shirt in the first place."  
  
He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I just wanted you to have something to remind you of our first Fourth of July together."  
  
She smiled in spite of herself and glanced at him with an amused expression. "Are you always this sentimental?"  
  
"Maybe." He smiled softly. "Just be glad I didn't wear my lucky shirt."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "You mean your ugly shirt."  
  
He snaked his arms around her waist from behind and whispered in her ear again. "I'm retiring it."  
  
A satisfied smile spread across Sara's face as she glanced over her shoulder at him. "Retiring it, huh?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, I decided that decomps or no decomps, if you don't like it, I'm retiring it."  
  
She could keep the amused smirk off of her face. "Nice to know I have that kind of power."  
  
"In fact, I was thinking of giving it to you." Nick teased. "I hear women love to sleep in men's shirts."  
  
She rolled her eyes and pried his arms from around her waist. "You do that and it definitely won't be your lucky shirt."  
  
He feigned a hurt expression and followed her out into the back yard where he noticed that Catherine was talking to a man that he recognized as her boyfriend Chris. Warrick was talking to a woman that Nick had a vague recollection was a lab tech from the dayshift. Grissom was crouched down next to a boy who appeared to be a little younger than Lindsey talking about some insect he had found and was holding by the wing. Greg had somehow been roped into manning the grill and was talking to a woman that was probably the mother of one of the kids playing in the pool with Lindsey. There were a few other people Nick didn't recognize, but he figured that by the time they left the barbecue for the fireworks display, they'd have gotten to know everyone.  
  
"So did you guys plan this?" Greg was grinning as Nick and Sara approached. He pointed at their matching T-shirts. "You know it's serious when you start dressing alike."  
  
Sara gave Nick a pointed stare and raised a single eyebrow.  
  
Nick shook his head at Greg. "We did not plan this. It just happened." He noticed the vintage Dead Kennedys T-shirt Greg had on and quipped. "So where's your patriotic flare?"  
  
"The Kennedys are part of modern Americana." Greg defended.  
  
Nick glanced over at Sara who was trying not to laugh before he looked back at Greg. "Hey, none of the real Kennedys were actually in the band."  
  
"I knew that." He retorted with a grin. "At least I'm not dressed like my girlfriend."  
  
Nick grinned as he slung his arm over Sara's shoulder. "The key phrase there is 'my girlfriend'."  
  
Sara patted Nick's stomach and tried to keep a straight face. "Down boy. Let's go get something to drink."  
  
As they walked over to the cooler, Greg called after them. "Just remember if things don't work out there with Nicky-boy, I'm your man."  
  
She grinned at Greg as they walked away shaking her head in amusement. "I'll keep that in mind."  
  
Nick's eyebrows curved upward in protest. "Hey."  
  
She laughed as she looked up at him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "You're cute when you're jealous."  
  
"I'm not jealous." He seemed to unconsciously puff his chest out a little.  
  
She giggled. "Oh, yes you are, but don't worry, I'm not interested in Greg."  
  
"Good." He grinned at her and leaned over and kissed her.  
  
"Are you two going to talk to anyone else?" Warrick had walked up while they were talking and was amused at the public displays of affection.  
  
Sara smiled at him a bit too widely as they stepped apart. "Hi, Warrick."  
  
He slung an arm over her shoulder and gave her a quick hug. "Hey, girl." He noticed that Greg appeared to be having some difficulty with the gas barbecue as flames were shooting up a little too high. "I'm going to go help Sanders before he burns the house down."  
  
As Warrick walked away, Lindsey pulled herself from the pool and made her way towards the pair with a smile on her face. "Uncle Nicky!"  
  
"Hey, Linds." Nick grinned at her, handing her a towel that was hanging on the back of one of the chairs sitting around the poolside table. "Here you go kiddo." He wrapped the towel around her and tousled her hair.  
  
"I made you a card." She reached for a stack of drawings on the table and handed one to Nick. "Happy Fourth of July." She gave him a toothy grin.  
  
As Nick read the card, his smile widened and a realization hit him. "Thanks, Linds."  
  
"I'm not done with yours yet, Sara." Lindsey explained.  
  
Sara smiled at her. "That's ok. It's the thought that counts." She noticed the mischievous glint in Nick's eye as she glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Linds, we need to talk to your mom for a minute." Nick took Sara's hand in his.  
  
"Ok, I'm going to go swim some more. See ya." She hung the towel back up on the chair and headed back into the pool.  
  
Sara regarded Nick with curiosity as they approached Catherine who was still talking with Chris.  
  
Nick grinned. "Hey, Cath."  
  
Catherine smiled as she turned, until she noticed that Nick's smile was a bit too wide. "What's up?"  
  
Chris excused himself. "I'm going to go get us a couple of drinks, babe."  
  
Catherine just nodded at him.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow. "You had Lindsey write that note with the tickets, didn't you?"  
  
A surprised expression crossed Sara's face as she realized what he was talking about.  
  
Catherine let out a deep throaty chuckle. "How did you figure it out?"  
  
He held up the card Lindsey had given him. "I thought I sort of recognized the handwriting."  
  
Catherine looked amused. "You two needed a good push."  
  
Nick leaned over and kissed Catherine on the cheek. "Thanks, it was the best push I ever got." He looked over and grinned at Sara.  
  
"How did you know he'd ask me out?" Sara looked a little perplexed.  
  
"I didn't." Catherine chuckled. "But Nick's had a thing for you for almost as long as you've worked here."  
  
"Everyone keeps saying that." Nick furrowed his brow wondering if he really had been that obvious.  
  
"Because it's true." Sara smirked, sliding her arm around his waist getting a smile from him in return.  
  
"And the way you've been looking at each other the last couple of months, I had to do something." Catherine looked a little smug. "I was prepared to take extra measures if necessary."  
  
"Like what?" Nick regarded her suspiciously. "You don't have my sisters' phone numbers do you?"  
  
"Never you mind, boy." Catherine grinned.  
  
Sara smirked at Nick, raising her eyebrows. "Speaking of your sisters." Sara glanced over at Catherine and gave her a conspiratorial smile. "I should show you this picture Nick's sister Lisa emailed me."  
  
**_The End_**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Oh, I know I'm probably cruel ending it there, but use your imagination, I'm sure you can imagine where things would go from here. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, you are truly appreciated.


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